SUNSHINE STATE MAP Pre and Post Visit Activities Introduction: The following are ideas of how to introduce the history of Florida and its geography. We recommend these ideas be used as pre- and/or post-visit lessons for any one of our living map or tour programs. Grades: 3-5 Objectives for the Sunshine State map program: -Learn about the environmental, historical and cultural differences of Florida and how important and unique our state is! Vocabulary: Cardinal points Caribbean Castillo de San Marcos Cave Coastal plain Coral reef Coquina Drainage East Environment Everglades Gulf Hammocks Highland Labor Lake Limestone Miami Native American North Ocean Oolithic limestone Orlando Panhandle. Pensacola Peninsula Plain St. Augustine South Sponging Spring Strait Swamp System Tallahassee West Wrecking 1 www.historymiami.org Introduction to Florida: Two major physical features dominate Florida’s landscape: the interior highlands and the coastal plain lowlands. The highlands extend from the northwest corner of Florida throughout the Florida Panhandle and into the central area of the peninsula. It is characterized by low hills with forests, lakes, springs and caves. The highlands, though only 200-300 feet above sea level, are still higher than the coastal areas. The coastal lowlands separate the interior highlands from the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Gulf of Mexico in the west. Its landscape is low and level, with sandbars, barrier islands, coral reefs (the cause of many past wrecks in Florida waters) and swamplands. In southern Florida, these swamplands are part of the Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades. Florida can also be divided into four regions: Southern, Central, Northeast and Northwest, each with different environmental conditions. The Southern Region, extending from Lake Okeechobee south to the Florida Straits, has a variety of cultures and people, a subtropical climate and businesses based on tourism, international trade and agriculture. It has three major geographical features: The Everglades, the Florida Keys and Lake Okeechobee. The Central Florida Region is located in the central part of the state. It goes from Tampa, which is on the west coast, east to Cape Canaveral, which is on the Atlantic coast. It’s a land of many lakes and springs. There are many businesses, like sponging, cigar making, orange grove farming and cattle ranching. Tourism is also very important, with several famous tourist attractions, such as Disney World. Another important place is the Kennedy Space Center, from which the Space Shuttle is launched. The Northeast Florida Region is located in the northeastern part of Florida. It goes from Jacksonville, which is close to Georgia, south to Daytona Beach and west to Ocala. The Ocala area is famous for the breeding of racehorses. A famous landmark of the region is the city of St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States, with its Castillo de San Marcos dating back hundreds of years to the time of the Spanish colonization. 2 www.historymiami.org The Panhandle of Florida makes up most of the Northwest Region. It goes from Pensacola, which is close to Alabama, east to Tallahassee. Tallahassee was chosen as the state capital because it was in the middle, between Pensacola and St. Augustine. The region is known for its sand dune beaches and inland caves. Its major businesses are based on fishing and forestry. Pre-Visit Activities Activity 1: What is in a museum? Duration of Activity: 40 minutes Objectives: To introduce students to collections and in particular those at HistoryMiami. Instructions: STUDENTS: Take out a piece of paper Fold the paper in half (vertically) Number both halves of the paper from 1-10 Label the upper left side: My Collections and the upper right side: Museum’s Collections Write down what you collect on the left and what you think the museum collects on the right. TEACHER: A book, letter or map (a document), a rock or leaf (can be a fossil someday), an object that is authentic (an artifact like a family heirloom) and an object that is a replica (maybe a piece of costume jewelry) o After everyone has done this, have students share some of their collections. o Then have students share their ideas for a museum collection (there is no right or wrong). You can then share with the students the 4 things you put aside. Have them try to put them into categories (documents, fossils, artifacts and replicas) . You can share with them that these are the 4 categories the Museum at HistoryMiami collects in. Have the students try to pull 4 similar objects from their person---their textbooks, something from their backpack---they will see how they are carrying collections with them at all times as well. Have students explain WHY those pieces from the collection are in the category they are in. Key questions for students: What is a collection? Why do people collect? Why do museums collect? Activity 2: Quadrant warm up, Part 1 Duration of Activity: 60 minutes Objectives: Test the student’s prior knowledge of Florida’s geography. 3 www.historymiami.org Instructions: Divide students into three groups: One group will be the “Southern” group, one will be the “Northern” group and one will be the “Central” group. Our program will go over each quadrant in depth, students are divided for the excersize to acquaint them with the names of the regions. Students can either sit in groups, with desks together, or can stand in different parts of the room in groups. Groups should address the key questions below in writing and on a blank map of Florida. Key questions for students: Where is your group’s area on the map of Florida? Where do you think Miami is? Where do you think the Everglades are? Where do you think alligators live? Where do you think Disney World is? What is the name of the oldest city in the U.S.? What group is it located in? What is the name of the capital of Florida? Where is it? Activity 3: Florida Road Map Duration of Activity: 30 minutes Objectives: Describe and identify roads on a map of Florida. Demonstrate this through answering questions using cardinal directions and analysis of possible road routes. You can find a great road map at: http://geology.com/state-map/florida.shtml Writing Prompt for Students Identify Florida’s state capital. Make a road description of how to get from the capital to Miami. Key questions for students: Write the cities you pass through. In which cardinal direction are you heading? What are the different roads you can take to get back to Miami? Is there more than one? Label whether or not it is a toll road, US highway or Interstate highway. GO GREEN! Use a projector and computer to show images and assignments to your students. OR Print this image on recycled paper! 4 www.historymiami.org Activity 4: Castillo de San Marcos Duration of Activity: 30+ 45 minutes for writing prompt Objectives: Distinguish how different geographic attribute can effect construction. Compare and contrast two cultures. Modification: This activity can be adjusted to fit any historic site or any city. Simply look up the Native Americans that occupied the land initially and the Europeans who settled the land later on. Instructions: Lead students to research the Castillo de San Marcos. Divide them into 2 groups of 4 students each (depending on how many students there are in your class, you might have multiple sets of the same assignment.). Group assignments for students: Group 1: Research the geographic attributes of the areas in and surrounding St. Augustine. What natural attribute is most usable for building material? What else can you find out about the land and sea of that region? Group 2: Research the Spaniards and Timucuan tribe. What similarities do the two groups have? What differences? Whole Class: Synthesize the relationship between the land’s physical characteristics and the people who inhabited the area’s traits. Do you see any important relationships? Teacher: Write all of these characteristics on the board. Use the whole class activity as a writing prompt. Post-Visit Activities Activity 1: Quadrant Warm Up, Part 2 Duration of Activity: 40 minutes Objectives: To communicate acquired knowledge of Florida’s geography to peers. Instructions: Students will step out of the role of students and into the role of teachers. Divide the class into four groups again, and give them each a region of Florida. After a period of 15-20 minutes, each group presents their region, informing the other groups of key cities, characteristics and importance of each region. Key Questions for students: Why is this region of Florida important? What cities are there in this region? What natural sites are there in this area? (Everglades, Marianna Caves) Why are they important to keep safe? What important places are there? (Disney World, Kennedy Space Center) Activity 2: Expository Writing Duration of Activity: 45 minutes Objectives: Evaluate, through writing, how the geography of Florida has affected its history. Instructions: 5 www.historymiami.org Ask students to write a five paragraph essay detailing three geographic features that have had an impact on the way Florida’s history was formed. Some examples are; the Everglades, the oolitic limestone ridge, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the rolling hills in North West Florida, or even the beach. Activity 3: Log writing Duration of Activity: 15 minutes or homework Objectives: Students will reflect on their visit and connect with their growth. Instructions: After the museum visit, students will spend time on writing a personal log. This will help with retention of information they have gathered. Key Questions for Students: Where and when did you go? –Why? What did you see, hear, touch, do? What was your favorite part? –Why? What new piece of information changed the way you thought about the world? –Why? Which words and ideas stood out the most? –Why? What do you think about the experience? THANK YOU! Thank you again for your participation and we look forward to working with you again soon! We have many programs available, as well as professional development workshops for object and inquiry based approaches to learning and the Picturing America series.